Correlation between two DNA-based typing methods applied to Streptococcus pneumoniae strains: BOX-PCR assay as an alternative to ribotyping

Seventy-nine Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates were characterized by ribotyping and BOX-PCR typing. The isolates comprised 14 most frequently identified serogroups and serotypes, 54 ribotypes (defined as each different combination of two DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns obtained with HindIII and PvuII, respectively) and 51 BoxA-PCR patterns. There was close but not absolute correlation between molecular techniques. However, the discrimination indice of ribotyping--calculated on the basis of combination of the data obtained with both enzymes--equals that of BOX-PCR typing: D = 0.985 and the deduced genetic clustering of the pneumococcal strains was comparable.